


When the Going Gets Tough (We Run)

by supernaturallyawesomedemonlover



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alpha Derek Hale, Banshee Lydia Martin, Gen, Good Peter Hale, Running Away, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf) Being an Asshole, Scott is a Bad Friend, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, fight me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-06-29 13:45:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19831459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernaturallyawesomedemonlover/pseuds/supernaturallyawesomedemonlover
Summary: "It's time." Stiles was just heading to the living room when Lydia let herself into his house, Jackson following behind her. "My mom's planning to send me to my Aunt's in Argentina.A year for yourself before you start your life,she says.""Shit, shit, this is not good. So not good. Th-""Stiles! Shut up!" Lydia's shout snapped Stiles from his panic, and it was only then he realised the steel bands wrapped around his torso were actually Jacksons arms. "We'll figure this out, you just have to calm the fuck down first."The curse words spoke volumes; Lydia only swore when shit really hit the fan.----------In an Argent controlled Beacon Hills, Lydia, Jackson, and Stiles must figure out to get on with life after the Sheriff 'dies'. With Scott acting as the Argent's Supernatural sniffer dog, the group doesn't have long before someone finds out Stiles is a werewolf. They have one option; get out of Beacon Hills, then find Derek. Easy, right?





	1. Rum, Sambuca and Absinthe

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first attempt at writing a Teen Wolf fic. This will not follow canon, to be honest I haven't even watched all of Teen Wolf, it wasn't what I was expecting. But I love the characters, and what we can do with them. I plan to update once a week/ maybe every two weeks. I have a full time job and two kids, I only write in my spare time. 
> 
> I am looking for a beta reader, so hit me up if you're interested. All comments and criticism appreciated and welcomed. I hope you enjoy :) 
> 
> Also, fun fact for y'all. Did you know that coke is only 31 years younger than Italy (the country)?

"It's time." Stiles was just heading to the living room when Lydia let herself into his house, Jackson following behind her. "My mom's planning to send me to my Aunt's in Argentina. _A year for yourself before you start your life,_ she says." 

Standing in his living room, you wouldn't be able to tell that Lydia was scared. She looked just as beautiful as she did at the cafeteria table at school. Make-up applied perfectly, clothes pristine and perfect on her, hair sitting perfectly straight on her shoulders, not one hair out of place. Nothing like the Lydia he had gotten to know the past couple of months. But Stiles could tell by her too wide eyes, the slight tremor in her hands, and the fear he could smell that slightly soured her scent. 

Stiles on the other hand…

"Shit, shit, this is not good. So not good. Th-"

"Stiles! Shut up!" Lydia's shout snapped Stiles from his panic, and it was only then he realised the steel bands wrapped around his torso were actually Jacksons arms. "We'll figure this out, you just have to calm the fuck down first."

The curse words spoke volumes; Lydia only swore when shit really hit the fan.

"You can put me down now Jackson." The boy immediately complied, setting Stiles softly on the ground before he turned around and sunk down onto the Stilinski's living room sofa. 

"Okay," Lydia stopped pacing after she spoke, sitting expectantly in the arm chair across from the sofa. Stiles sat on the table, in arms reach of both Lydia and Jackson. "We've been speaking about this for a while now, it's time we do it. I know we won't be as prepared as we hoped, but we could still pull it off." 

"We don't know how much longer we can keep your change a secret, the full moon is in ten days. It's no surprise McCall hasn't felt you in his territory yet, but with the full moon he'll definitely be able to feel you. We know you won't last a second after Gerard finds out." 

Jackson was right. Scott might have his head so far shoved up the Argent's families ass that he had missed the fact that his best friend was turned into a werewolf 9 days ago, but his wolf wouldn't miss it during the full moon. 

"We've planned for this. All we need to do is pack and set the plan in motion." Lydia moved so she was leaning her arms on the table, putting her closer to Stiles as she waited on his answer. 

"Let's do it." 

"Perfect. Let's go over it one more time shall we?" Both Stiles and Jackson honed their hearing on their surroundings, listening for familiar heartbeats that shouldn't be there, and unfamiliar ones. Once they had confirmed they were alone, only the usual neighbours around them, did Stiles start speaking. 

"Step one, we steal a car. Preferably some low life criminal, they usually have a stack of license plates in the trunk. Then we park the car just before the leaving Beacon Hills sign. We do it at one in the morning, there's usually zero traffic on that stretch of road that time of night, and there will be no pack around." 

"We walk to the Hale house on foot." Jackson took over from Stiles, moving the stationery that Stiles had on the coffee table as a re-enactment of their plan. His notebook was the Hale house, rubbers and sharpeners formed the trees, and the highlighter Jackson held in his hand represented the group. "We dig the bodies we stashed there. Hopefully Deaton's salve worked and they won't be too decayed and leave a smell." 

"We set the bodies in position, crack the whiskey open, spill some blood and lay a few candles. One of you pick me up, we knock a candle over and run for the car, then we're gone." Lydia smiled as she finished their plan, one hand reaching and resting palm down in the centre of the table. "Emergency services always take their time heading to the Hale house, it'll burn for about an hour before its noticed and a unit makes its way over, giving us about three hours of burn time. With the pure alcohol as accelerant, the wreck that is the house itself, and all the trash in the house, it would be expected that there would not be enough body left to distinguish identity." 

"We'll leave the newspaper clippings of my father's unfortunate plan to run away and leave his life behind, as well as the journal Allison knew you kept, Lydia, and Jacksons adoption paper's, and it'll look like we went to the Hale house to grieve, passed out while the candles were still lit and what an unfortunate accident." 

"Gerard wants as little scandal as possible when it comes to the Stilinski's, he had enough trouble trying to convince the town that the Sheriff had run away and was not in fact dead, that he'll keep this on the down low. He'll spin the story that we run away, probably in search for the Sheriff." Jackson placed his hand on top of Lydia's on the table. 

"Such a shame that they haven't realized that we know the truth. My father isn't dead, not matter what the pack believes. Gerard needs Scott to believe that, needs Scott to have a reason to doubt anything I tell him. They haven't clued in on the fact that we have a banshee in the group, that there was no scream on the night of my father's death" Stiles' placed his hand on top of the pile. They were going to do this. They were going to escape the hell hole. 

"Well, I for one am packed and ready, and so is Jackson. Just you we're waiting on Stiles, then we can set this plan in action." 

Stiles smirked at Lydia, before nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen, where a packed bag lay in the doorway. He had packed three days ago. Enough clothes to last him a few days, which would be plenty of time to get to their destination, his mother's recipe book, the family photo album - which had about a dozen more photos recently placed in it - and his father's badge. 

"I never expected anything less." Lydia stood from the table, Stiles and Jackson following her lead. "We still agreed on New York as our destination? Find Derek, ask to join his pack and try to figure out a way to save Beacon Hills and return the Hale pack to their rightful place as protectors of the town?"

"Yup. Once we've joined the pack, we start the search for my father, he shouldn't be too hard to find." 

"When are we leaving?" Stiles and Lydia shared a look, before turning back to Jackson.

"Tonight. I know just the car we're going to steal, Jackson you can help me." Jackson rolled his eyes, but followed Lydia as she made her way to his front door. "Stiles, our bags are in the trunk. Can you grab them and leave them here? We'll pick you up at about thirty past midnight."

"No problem, remember bring your phones. Grab any cash you can without being obvious. We still have the stack at the Hale house, but better safe than sorry."

Before Lydia left the house, she pulled Stiles into a tight hug. Seconds later and Jackson wrapped his arms around the both of them. 

"We're gonna be okay." Lydia whispered into his shirt. It would have been too quite for human ears to pick up, but Stiles and Jackson heard her no problem. 

The embrace lasted a few more seconds, before Lydia pulled herself away. Stiles followed them to Jacksons car, grabbing the two duffels from his trunk. They had packed light, something that Stiles hadn't been sure Lydia was capable off. But Lydia had changed in the past couple of months since school finished, since his father had disappeared. 

"We’ll see you soon Stiles." 

Stiles watched as Jackson pulled out of his driveway, watched as the car made the turn off his street before he headed back inside. He left the bags at the door, before heading back into the living room. Collecting his notebook and supplies that were strewn across the table, he slipped them into his own bag before moving that towards the front door as well. 

It was time for the more detailed part of their plans. He had to convince the Argents, and the pack, that he was dead. Part one was already complete, his house smelled of misery. Most of it he didn't have to fake, he missed his dad, he was worried about his dad, but he also knew his dad was alive. He made himself look through the photo album that held photos of his mother, read his mother's recipe book. Jackson and Lydia came over and they indulged in a bottle or two of whiskey. The only scents Scott would pick up from his home was wolf (Jackson), misery, despair and puke. 

Next, he left one of his father's shirts on the sofa, the one he wore to bed last night. There was a half drunk cup of coffee on the living room table, and the Crime channel was playing on the TV. 

In the kitchen, he had left dirty dishes in the sink, one placed on the end of the bunker like he had left it there in a rush. It would look like he had been clearing up after dinner, before Jackson came to his house and picked him up. Jackson's car would be the one left in front of the Hale house. Stiles wasn't leaving his jeep in the Argent's clutches. 

He made sure to grab the spare key and put it in his bag, before grabbing the keys he used to place on one of the bodies later. 

From an outsiders perspective, it looked like Stiles was planning to come back, that he didn't mean to die at the Hale house. 

He knew the Argents would no doubt be here. They'd do the dishes, post his keys that they found on a burnt corpse through the letter box, pack a bag with enough clothes in it that it looked like he run away. In the long run, that would be easier for them. It wasn't easy declaring yourself undead. 

Everything in place, Stiles headed upstairs to his room. Before his dad disappeared, Stiles had bought himself a new laptop, claiming that his was broken. In reality, they had been using his laptop across town in a coffee shop, preparing their plan. Everything he had done for the pack, however, had been done on the new laptop. He opened the browser, already knowing what site he had left it on. 

The pack didn't come to him often nowadays, but there was still times where Scott pretended Stiles was still part of the pack; gave him the name of a monster so he could research it for them. Stiles supposed he was trying to keep him happy, give him no reason to suspect something was up. Scott didn't know that Stiles knew what Gerard had asked him to do. That he had asked Scott and his mother to get Stiles put into Eichen House. He claimed it was for Stiles' benefit. That the death of his father had broken him and he was becoming unhinged. He claimed he was worried that Stiles might blab on the werewolf front and put the pack in danger. 

The old man was actually scared. He knew that Stiles, Lydia and Jackson were the only ones that wasn't buying his bullshit. Hence the reason Lydia's mum was sending her to Argentina. Gerard was getting rid of them one by one. 

Well, Stiles had always been smarter than the Argents, and him and Lydia together? The Argents didn't stand a chance. 

Everything in place, Stiles took himself back downstairs. Nothing to do now but wait. 

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 

At almost 12:30 on the dot, there was a knock on his door. Stiles stood from the kitchen table, leaving the coffee mug where it was. The bags were already at the door, waiting on him. He opened the door, unsurprised to see Jackson waiting for him. Handing him two of the bags, Stiles grabbed his own and turned off the hall light. Locking his door, he turned and followed Jackson. 

The car was parked at the end of the drive, and Stiles could see Lydia sitting in the passenger seat. Gone was the make-up and pretty clothes, in their place a messy bun and a black hoodie. No one would look at the red head and think it was Lydia. Once the bags were in the back of the car, and Stiles was strapped in, they headed out. 

"Jackson's car is already in place at the front of the Hale house, my mother caught me sneaking a couple of bottles rum, Sambuca and Absinthe. She'll be imagining some interesting cocktails of course, I doubt she'll even know how flammable those liquids are." Lydia was looking back at Stiles as she spoke, a smirk teasing her lips. 

Stiles smirked back at her, before looking out the window as he continued to listen to her speak. The sky was clear and almost pitch black outside. The moon was less than half full, and just looking at it Stiles could feel its pull. He never imagined he would be a werewolf, never mind a werewolf running from Beacon Hills. 

"We have enough gas to get us to Nevada. We'll find a gas station there, top up and change plates. We'll take turns at the wheel and try drive straight through. The quicker we get there the better." 

"It's show time." Jackson exclaimed, slowing the car to a stop at the edge of the road. The three of them stepped out the car, Lydia pulling a black bag pack with her, and made their way into the preserve. 

It was only a fifteen minute walk until they reached the Hale house. The smell of death and ash was overwhelming, Stiles couldn't understand how Derek had managed to stay in this shell of a house for as long as he did. Even with only recently improved senses, Stiles dreaded spending more than five minutes in this place

As Lydia continued on up to the house, Stiles and Jackson detoured off the path and towards the bushes that sat at the edge of the house. 

Last month, Stiles, Lydia and Jackson were planning at his house when Lydia felt the urge to scream. There was no way to stop her from screaming, but the group had figured out ways to dampen the loudness of the scream. They couldn't risk one of the pack overhearing. 

Three teens had committed suicide at the edge of the preserve. The teens stature's were similar to the trio's, and after a week had passed in the morgue, no one had claimed the bodies. When the city decided to bury them, Stiles and Jackson went to the cemetery and, well, they stole the bodies from the coffins.

Stiles hadn't been bit at this point, but the smell of death was still strong enough to make him puke. That particular outing hit the trio hard, it fuelled one of their whiskey binges on Stiles' sofa. Stiles never thought he would had to resort to grave robbing, no matter how hard things got. 

But, they had done it, and they buried the bodies by the Hale house using some scent removing salve Deaton had given to them the previous year. Stiles had also hacked into dental records, swapping out their own records for those of the dead teens. He knew that the easiest way they would be able to identify the burned corpses was through dental records. 

Digging up the ground beneath the bushes was quick work. With both boys having werewolf strength, and both of them just using their hands, claws extended, it only took them ten minutes to unearth the bodies from the shallow grave they were in. 

Moving the bodies into the house, they took them up stairs, careful of the splintering wood on the way up. Once the bodies were in position, Stiles slipped his cell phone and keys into the pockets of the body that most resembled him. 

Everything was in position, the bottles of drink were conveniently placed and spilled, candles were knocked over and the bag of clippings had been left at the stairs. They likely wouldn't survive the flames, but if they did then it would just further prove their story. 

"Time to go." Lydia declared, striking a match and lighting one of the toppled candles. The flame caught just as they planned. By the time the made it to the stairs, the fire had already spread to the first body. 

Once they got out the house, Lydia jumped on Jackson back and they raced for the car. Stiles took his time, covering all their tracks far enough into the forest before he took off himself. 

When he got to the car, Lydia was in the back and the car was already running. Time to put Beacon Hills behind them.


	2. Some Classic Nevada Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is the next update. I hope y'all enjoy. I would like to thank my amazing betas, [sweetlikecinn_anon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetlikecinn_amon/pseuds/sweetlikecinn_amon) and [Cuzosu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuzosu/pseuds/Cuzosu), for the hard work they put into this chapter to help me get it published. 
> 
> I don't have much else to say, as always any comments/criticism welcomed, my aim is to keep you guys happy and interested :) 
> 
> Also, thank you so much for all the kudos/comments, they are really appreciated! 
> 
> Fun fact: Cows can hear lower and higher frequencies than humans do.

Dawn was just breaking when Stiles woke up. He stretched as much as he could in the car, relishing in the soft pops as he cracked his back. There was some kind of classic pop radio station playing softly from the speakers and a quiet snuffling from Lydia where she was nodding off in the front passenger seat.

Outside of the car, Stiles could hear birds, a heavy rock CD coming from the pick up a few cars back, and the dreaded sound of a baby starting to wake up. Soon the baby would start wailing, and what a fun journey that was going to be if they were stuck with the family.

Stiles leaned forward between the driver's and passenger's seat and brought his arm around the drivers side, so he could run his fingers through Jackson’s hair.

"Want me to take over yet?" he asked, smiling softly as Jackson tilted his head further into his hand.

"We've just hit Lovelock, and we're almost outta gas. There's a station coming up, we can switch then."

"Awesome." Stiles rested his head against his arm, looking out the windshield as he continued to play with Jackson’s hair.

Touch came naturally to him now; ever since his change, he found himself seeking it from Lydia and Jackson. Stiles guessed it was because that's who his wolf recognized as pack. He was glad. If it wasn't for the other two then he would be on his way to feral, Jackson too probably. Finding Derek before the full moon was important. Even if Derek denied them, being in the presence of an Alpha when your control was at its weakest made life so much easier. Or so he was told.

He had taken well to being a wolf, something Lydia and Jackson said was no surprise - he did coach Scott through it after all. For all the information and preparation he had done though, he was not prepared for how much his senses would be amplified. He was able to hear the heartbeats of most of the residents on his street, if he tried hard enough he managed to get seven houses down. His eyesight was better than ever. He could spot birds flying miles away, didn't need to turn the lights on when it was dark.

The thing that amazed him most of all was the sense of smell. Each person had their own unique scent. Take Lydia for example; she smelled of roses, fabric, powder and vanilla. Jackson said the roses smell was new, which led them to thinking that, with Lydia's new banshee status, came the new smell.

Everyone worked differently, and it was amazing and confusing all at the same time. Stiles loved it. It gave his mind something to work on. He no longer needed to take Adderall, the bite made taking any kind of medicine ineffective, plus the bite had rid him of his ADD. But his mind still worked faster than it should, probably a side effect from it being like that all those years.

"I'll pump the gas, you pay?" Jackson asked, twisting round in his seat to get a better look at Stiles.

"Sure." Stiles replied, grabbing some cash from one of the bags and making his way towards the gas station building.

It wasn't one of those service chains, but a family run one. The outside could do with a makeover, it looked one thunderstorm away from being knocked down. The inside was no better: water damage to the roof and walls, air bubbles on the linoleum floor where water had been left to soak. An old woman was at the counter, the kind that smoked cigarettes and wore too red lipstick. The smell of cheap perfume was overpowering the closer Stiles got to the counter, and he could feel his eyes begin to water.

"Pump 2." He said, putting a couple of bills down as he did so. The woman didn't reply, just started to ring up on the till. Rolling his eyes, he spotted a road map on the counter shelf to the side of him. That could be helpful. Picking one up, he lifted it so the cashier would see it.

As he was waiting for Jackson to finish pumping the gas so he could pay, the door opened and more people walked in. Stiles couldn't stop the automatic response of his spine straightening as the smell of wolfsbane hit his nose. Hunters. His claws wanted to come out, and his fangs were itching to be let down. Biting his lip, he concentrated on Jackson and Lydia's heartbeats. Lydia's was slow and even, she was in the deeper stages of sleep now. Jackson's, picking up that something was wrong inside the building, had started to beat faster.

"Here ya' go." Stiles startled as the cashier spoke to him, taking a minute to realise she was handing him his change.

"Thanks." He grabbed the coins and the map, before making his way to the door. He managed to do it at a walk, even nodding his head at one of the men who had entered the gas station. Jackson was already in the car, and the car was running, but Stiles still made his way slowly to it.

"Take it easy." He said to Jackson as he got in, knowing they couldn't afford to high tail it out of there.

"They're not from Beacon Hills, so I don't think they’re here for Gerard. Just a couple of hunters passing through."

Stiles nodded, agreeing with what Jackson was saying. Reaching over, he shook Lydia awake, they all needed to be ready if something went wrong.

"Hunters at the gas station, they're not from Beacon Hills."

"Did we manage to fill the tank?" Lydia asked. It was like she had never been asleep, brain already working out their next strategy.

"Just under half way before they showed up." Jackson admitted.

"Okay, we need to swap plates. If they managed to catch the registration at the station, we need to change it as soon as possible. Stiles, start condensing the bags. Keep the things we absolutely need to keep in one bag, second essentials in another bag, and things we could lose in the third. I'll keep most of the money in the back pack, but we'll have reserves in the other bags."

Stiles set to work, grabbing his pack first and emptying it. He grabbed the photo album, recipe book, his father's badge and his notebook. He fitted them along the bottom of the bag, taking up as little space as possible. He emptied Jacksons bag next, finding his personals and putting them in the bag next to his. In Jacksons bag he placed a set of clothing each. That done, he emptied Lydia's bag, grabbing her personals and putting them in the first bag. He grabbed\ one set of her clothes for the second, before he grabbed all the clothes that were spare and chucked them in Lydia's now empty bag.

His and Lydia's laptops were placed in the first bag, there were important plans in those, they had to be kept safe. He took the money Lydia was handing him, placing a small amount in each bag.

They knew it might seem silly to put all the valuables in one bag, but protecting and keeping one bag was much easier than keeping all three.

In the front seat, Stiles could see the way Jackson had an iron grip on the steering wheel, he could hear it crunch beneath the teens hands. Apprehension and fear filled the car, Stiles nose twitched with it. That was another thing that amazed Stiles about the bite, he could actually smell what people were feeling. He had thought Derek was exaggerating when he said that, Scott certainly couldn't smell emotions. 

"This is just a precaution, they probabl-"

Stiles went flying into the back of the driver's seat as their car was smashed into from behind. They skidded of the road, into the trees that surrounded one side of the road. Luckily the car didn't roll, but it did smack hard enough into the tree to cause it to crack.

"Lydia!" Stiles called, seeing the passenger seat empty once he had gotten his bearings. Had the hunters managed to grab her so fast?

"Stiles come on!" It was Lydia who pulled the back door open, grabbing the bags and passing them out to Jackson.

Stiles scrambled over the seat, grabbing the last bag as the fell out of the car. He took of at a run, following the others into the trees.

"Stop right there!"

The three skidded to a stop as two hunters emerged from the trees in front of them. The other two hunters that had been driving the pick up that ran them off the road were behind them, rifles pointed at their backs.

Stiles made eye contact with Lydia, before looking at his bag she held in her hands. That was the important one, that was the one they needed. The hunters were getting closer, speaking amongst themselves as they brought out ropes, wolfsbane infused ropes by the smell of them.

"Well, well boys. Look what we have here. A couple of werewolves and their bitch. Quite the pretty one too." The snarls ripped from Stiles and Jackson's throat before they could stop them.

"Uh, uh boys. Calm down now, or she gets it first." The drivers were almost at Stiles. They had re-holstered their weapons and were working on straightening out the ropes, this was his opportunity.

He looked to his left where Jackson was, and inclined his head towards the trees slightly. Jackson widened his eyes in return, and Stiles faced the hunters again.

The ones coming up from behind were right by him, and as soon as one of them grabbed his wrist, he reacted. Pulling the man forward, he used him as a shield as his buddies shot. The other driver that had been coming up behind him got his throat slashed with Stiles' claws.

Jackson and Lydia had headed for the trees, but luckily the two hunters that were left had stayed with Stiles. He grabbed the gun from the dying hunter in his arms, and shot the two hunters that were left.

Thank you dad for the self defence and shooting lessons. They sure came in handy. Wiping his prints from the gun in his hand, Stiles dropped it and legged it after the others. He caught them as they emerged from the trees, far away from where their car had crashed. They had lost one of the duffels, the one that held most of the clothes.

"You okay?" he asked, panting for breath as he bent over with his hands braced on his knees.

"I'm good, just a couple of scrapes." Lydia replied, looking at Jackson for his answer.

"I cracked a couple of ribs in the crash, but they're almost healed."

"We need to put some distance between us." Stiles said, walking closer to the road to try and figure out where they were. "We can't risk stealing another car, they could have law enforcement on their sides and we don't have any plates to switch."

"I have an idea, a stupid one, but I think it's our best bet." Lydia had a frown on her face as she looked out across the road.

On the other side was some classic Nevada desert. Lydia couldn't be thinking what Stiles thought she was.

"Lydia?" he questioned, walking over beside Jackson.

"There's a gas station there," she pointed up the road, to something Stiles couldn't see passed the trees. "We have some cash, we buy water and protein bars, then we walk across the desert. The hunters won't come looking for us there, it’s a death trap and we could end up anywhere. We planned to swap cars in Oasis, if we head that way," she pointed out into the desert, "Then we'll come across it when we get back to the road."

They were fucked. It was only 6 hours into their escape and they had already lost a third of their stuff, and now they couldn't drive cars due to the risk of getting caught by hunters. They were out of options.

"Lydia, the desert? There has to be another way." Lydia didn't answer Jackson straight away, too busy studying the map that Stiles had bought at the gas station.

"How long will it take?" Stiles knew he wasn't going to like the answer to that question when Lydia paused before answering him.

"About seven days."

"A week?" Jackson exclaimed, disbelief etched onto his face. Stiles understood, his face must've been the same.

"It's the safest thing to do, hell it’s the only thing we can do. We can't walk the road, the hunters will drive it. We can't steal a car, the hunters will track us. We can't get a bus, it'll leave a trail for Gerard to follow if he figures it out. We're fucked and this is our only option."

Stiles and Jackson both walked over to Lydia, Stiles pulling her into his arms and Jackson putting his arms around the both of them. 

"It's okay Lyds, we'll make it."

Looked like they were walking across the desert.

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"Okay, we have 5 dozen protein bars and 10 gallons of water. Not ideal, but it’s all we could carry. If we ration it we should be okay. I told the clerk we were heading to a party, and that someone had to be responsible." 

"We can run a good bit of the way too, one of us can carry the bags and supplies, one of us can carry you."

Lydia's nose turned up when Jackson mentioned carrying her, but she otherwise remained silent. It was faster for them if the wolves carried her, they could run at speeds that humans couldn’t.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's get started."

They started off at a walk, deciding to wait until it got cooler before they started to run. Their sped up healing capabilities meant that dehydration, heat stroke and exhaustion took longer to take an affect on them. But, it would still hit them eventually. No point in tempting fate when they were already in so much danger. Plus, they didn't want any of the humans to see them carrying a women and 10 gallons of water like it was nothing. Luckily the gas station sold the water you would see in water dispensers, big 5 gallon drums. It would be easy for Stiles or Jackson to carry one drum in each hand with the bags on their backs.

July was not the ideal time to be trekking unprepared across the desert.

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

It was four days in when shit hit the fan. They had gotten a lot of running done that first and second night; Lydia reckoned they had cut their travelling time by at least a day and a half. What did go wrong was the supplies situation. Although they now had extra, considering they had cut down the length of time the journey would take, they quickly realised that Lydia needed a lot more water during the day than the boys did. She was stubborn and tried to cut down, but all that had done was make her dizzy in the desert sun. If they wanted to keep pace, Jackson and Stiles needed at least five protein bars each, per day. Lydia was making herself do with one, but they were running out.

Water was now just about gone, protein bars were limited, and although they had made a desperate dash last night, they were still about a day away from the road. To make things worse, today had to be the hottest day yet. It was amazing how fast the desert could affect your body. Lydia's lips were all dry and cracked, her face was burned and her hair was dry and brittle. The boys being wolves, meant that they weren't quite as bad as Lydia, thank you enhanced healing. But dehydration and limited food meant their healing factor had slowed, and they had cracked lips too, the constant running/walking/healing that their bodies were doing was taking its toll, they were exhausted.

To top it off, the trio were stressed. Jackson and Stiles had reverted back to snapping at each other, which followed with a 'cuddle session' when they realised how out of line they were being. If someone had told Stiles six months ago that he would be hugging Jackson in the middle of the desert to apologise for calling him a steaming pile of douche, well Stiles would have had them checked into Eichen House. They had to be crazy. Yet, here he was.

They were worried that word would get to Beacon Hills about the failed capture of two teenage boys and a teenage girl. Gerard was suspicious enough for that to be a good enough reason to believe that their group was still alive.

But, all the hunters were dead. The rest of their group would get there first having no idea what had happened. If they were lucky, the bag would not be found. If it was found, only adult clothes would be found. Most of the clothes in the bag they had left behind didn't belong to them. They had come from charity shops, clothes bins, and sale racks at Target. Deaton had taught them a few things about scent altering powders, salves and sprays they could make, and using what they knew, they managed to create an environment where the only smells you would get from the clothes were that of the people who had last handled them, the trio not included. It would look like two adults had run away together, not three teens. Hopefully.

"Once we get out of here, we'll have to hole up in a motel for a couple of days, recover. It's not part of the plan, and might throw us off with getting to New York in time for the full moon, but we need to rest. We'll kill ourselves if we just continue." Lydia was focussed on the ground ahead of her as she spoke.

All three of them were walking for now. Jackson and Stiles split the supplies up between them and Lydia had the map. They had wrapped t-shirts around their heads, trying to protect as much skin as possible from the unwavering sun. Where were the clouds? Stiles would kill for some clouds right now.

"Once we've rested up, we'll scout the area. We're close to where we were going to grab a new car anyway. Luckily, we still have the bag pack, so we have enough cash for now." Stiles was speaking his thoughts aloud, but the others were listening and nodded in agreement.

There wasn't much to say after that, so their walk continued in silence.


	3. Big Bang on the T.V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments/kudos, y'all are amazing and too kind. 
> 
> As usual, thank you to my two amazing betas! 
> 
> That being said any mistakes are my own, I was a dumb dumb who threw this at my betas super late and left them little time to really proof it. 
> 
> Fun fact: Albert Einstein could have been president of Israel when it was formed, but he declined.

Stiles felt like he was gonna die, and no, he wasn't exaggerating. He had never felt so tired in his life, and he's including the time that he and Lydia where chased through the preserve by Fae for two days. It was nearing evening and the sun was well on its way to setting, but it was still too warm out. The heat was taking a toll on all of them, Lydia most of all. 

Water and food were gone, but luckily they were they were only a couple of hours away from the closest town. Stiles was currently carrying Lydia, the young woman almost passed out in his arms, and Jackson had the supplies. They were hoping to come across a motel that accepted cash, which, they were in Nevada, of course there was gonna be a motel that accepted cash. 

"The full moon's in five days." Stiles startled as Jackson spoke, they had been walking in silence for the past couple of hours. 

"I know." In fact, it was all he had thought about on their trek across the stupid desert. It was his first full moon, and yes, he had shown great control since he was turned. But he saw the effect the moon had on other wolves, and not just Scott. Derek's betas, Erica and Boyd, had been almost feral during their first moon. It was only Derek and miles of chains that had stopped them from completely losing control and destroying all the poor Bambi's and Thumper's of the Preserve. 

"We're not going to make it to New York in time." 

"I know." 

"We'll be alright." Jackson didn't sound so sure. 

"I know." Neither did Stiles.

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

It was disturbingly easy to find a motel that accepted cash and required no I.D. Jackson had sauntered up to the counter of the first motel they had come across, asked for a double for three nights, slid some cash over the desk, and the receptionist didn't even look up as he reached back for a key and handed it to Jackson, too busy reading something on his phone. The group currently looked like they were extras for a horror movie, having spent the better part of a week trekking and sleeping rough in the desert. But Stiles wasn't complaining, the less people who spotted them the better.

The place didn't even have security cameras, a big plus for the runaway trio. 

"Okay, I'm gonna hit up the vending machine. I'll grab anything that looks like it could be in date. You stay with Lyds in case she wakes up." Jackson stuck his hand through the open bathroom door in a thumbs up, too busy brushing his teeth to give a verbal answer. Stiles carded a hand through Lydia's hair as he got up from his crouched position beside the bed. 

Lydia had woke briefly as they entered their motel room, and had managed to have a quick shower to wash of all the dirt and grime she had collected over the past week. But as soon as her head had hit the pillow, she was out like a light. Stiles had showered next, and he had wanted to stay in there for a week, but the water was already running lukewarm, and he didn't want to make Jackson have a cold shower. 

The vending machine sat just outside their room, a blessing and a curse. It meant he didn't have to walk far, but it also meant it was going to be a very stressful night deciding if someone was standing outside their door or just using the vending machine. 

Feeding a few bills into the machine, Stiles was relieved when they were accepted and not spat back out. The first thing he grabbed was water; the machine stocked those 1ltr bottles that all Beacon Hills machines never seemed to have. 

He grabbed a couple of sandwiches, well, he pretty much cleared the machine of the sandwiches they had left. He steered clear of the egg ones, there was a decidedly bad smell coming from those. With the few dollars he had left he grabbed a handful of chocolate bars, and juggled his way back into the room. 

Stiles didn't know who he was kidding, it ended up taking two trips to get everything into the room. 

By the time he got back in and locked up, Lydia was sitting up in bed, with Jackson lounging at the bottom watching Big Bang on the T.V. 

"I got us some food and water. Don't gulp it, you'll be sick." 

"We're not stupid Stilinski." Stiles ignored the petulant comment from Jackson, knowing the older boy was tired and hungry, the reason he had reverted back to high school Jackson. 

Stiles grabbed a sandwich and bottle of water from where he had dumped them on the tacky dresser that sat next to the bed, and flopped onto the free space beside Lydia. 

The teens didn't speak much as they sat on the bed and watched sitcoms, steadily munching their way through the pile of food. They did, however, manage to move so they were all curled up into each other. Jackson had ended up with his head on Stiles' stomach, with Lydia's legs sprawled across his lap. Stiles head was resting across Lydia's stomach, and Lydia was curled up one her side, already asleep. 

Stiles was barely awake himself, running a hand through Jackson's hair as the older boy drifted in and out of sleep. He debated turning the T.V off, but the thought of the silence that would fill the room unnerved him. Not that it would be silent, of course. But without the recorded laughter coming from the television, it would be hard not to listen to the prostitute that had brought a client to the room just a few doors down from their own. He would be able to listen to the husband and wife on the floor above them argue, his mistress long since gone. 

Yeah, he was gonna keep the T.V. on. He glanced down at Jackson as he felt him curl more into Stiles, and found himself smiling softly as he realised Jackson was fully asleep. 

He really hoped they were gonna find Derek in New York

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"Well, we wouldn't have to worry about getting busted driving a stolen car, and we would have a place to spend the full moon." Stiles was leaning over Lydia's shoulder, looking at the various maps and schedules she had laid out over the desk.

"In a train car? Your control is good, Stilinski, but you've never experienced the full moon. Even I'm feeling a bit restless right now." 

"I brought some mountain ash. When the moon starts really affecting you, I'll make a couple of circles for you both." Lydia looked at both boys as she spoke, her expression clearly stating 'Duh'. 

"Okay, so we're doing this. Train hopping. Told you watching Brave Dave wasn't a waste of time, we've got this in the bag." 

"Not that I'll ever say this again, but thank you for making us watch Brave Dave, Stiles. It's what gave me the idea." Stiles shoved the redhead in the shoulder, unable to surpress a chuckle. He was rewarded when both Lydia and Jackson huffed a laugh at him. 

"We should probably head out. There's a store a couple of blocks down, we can grab some supplies. It doesn’t look like the kind of store that has working surveillance." 

"Are we really going to do this?" Jackson was busy staring at the pieces of paper laid out on the desk, but Stiles could smell how nervous he was. 

"We'll be fine Jackson. It'll be dark, so we can get into the yard before the train is set to depart. We'll stake out the perfect carriage, then move out of sight. Once the train starts moving, we’ll jump on." 

"You make it sound so easy." Jackson drawled, dropping back onto the motel bed. 

"Of course, it is. Jumping on a moving train? No problem. Waking up to your ugly mug again? Level 10 problem." 

Stiles ducked as Jackson lobbed a shoe at him, laughing as he threw himself to the other side of Lydia and tried to use her as a shield. 

"Don't even think about it, Stilinski, I will not be used as your bodyguard." Before Stiles had found another hiding spot, Jackson had jumped from the bed and tackled him as soon as Lydia was clear. 

"Mercy, mercy!" Stiles shouted, trying not to outright giggle like a child as Jackson ruthlessly tickled him. It was nice. Jackson and Lydia smelled happy, the fear and stress that had been present in all their scents for the past week... no, past six months - was drowned in the happiness he could smell now. They would make it through this, or they would die trying. 

"Boys, I hate to break up your fun, but we better get ready to leave." Lydia was right, they couldn't miss this train. 

"Okay, the bag pack's ready right? That one and my duffel are the ones we need to keep. Jackson, yours has our spare sets of clothes. If it comes to it, we can leave it."

"That's easy for you to say, you’re used to wearing the same t-shirt 3 days in a row. Some of us have standards, Stilinski." 

"I'm sure Lydia won't mind wearing the same clothes for a couple of days." 

It looked like Jackson was about to pounce on Stiles again, when Lydia cleared her throat and both boys looked away, struggling to contain their laughter. 

"The chick at the desk is gone again, we should probably head now." Jackson shoulder's still shook with mirth as he spoke, and Stiles shoved him onto the bed on his way out of the door.

\+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

"This is a good plan, right?" Stiles turned his head to face Lydia, smelling the nerves coming from the woman as they lay in bushes waiting for their train to depart. She was looking right at Stiles, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as her brow furrowed, obviously thinking hard.

"Lyds, we’ll be fine. You researched the hell out of this, I'm impressed with the amount of information you gathered for a backup of a backup plan. Plus, we've watched Brave Dave, we've got this down." Both Lydia and Jackson snorted at him, and Stiles grinned, pleased with himself. Jackson was sitting a few feet from them, keeping an ear and eye out for any unwanted company. 

They had only spent one night at the motel, instead of the intended three. Although they looked a lot better, after showering off the desert grime and getting about 14 hours of sleep, they were still running on fumes. But if all went to plan, they would have plenty of time to sleep on the second train of the journey. That one was supposed to run for 16 hours, with only one crew change. Lydia had been on online hitchhiking forums, and was certain that they would go unnoticed at the stop, the crew hardly ever checked all cars on the train. As long as they choose one the cars closer to the front of the train, then they wouldn't get left behind either. 

"Well, would you listen to that? Our rides getting ready to leave." Stiles stood up from where he was sitting on the ground, and looked over at the first of the trains they would be riding. It was dark outside, since it was pretty close to midnight, but with the moonlight and spot lights dotted about the yard, he could see no problem. He grabbed his gear, watching as his packmates done the same, and put in the earplugs Lydia had handed him as they left the hotel. Turns out she was keeping them in her pocket just in case. Smart lady. 

The car they had chosen to ride on wasn't the comfiest, but it would keep them hidden and relatively safe. It was a car that housed several trailers that would be going on the backs of trucks, and had a solid base. All they had to do was crawl onto the car and under the trailer, and sit there until they reached their stop; six hours away. 

They might even be able to get a nap in. 

His heart was pounding in his ears as they jogged over to the train, a little way in front of their chosen car. Once it had caught up to them, still chugging along at a reasonably slow pace, Jackson jumped aboard first, immediately holding his hand out for the packs. Once they were safely onboard, he held a hand out to Lydia, helping her haul herself onto the car. 

By the time it got to Stiles' turn, the train had picked up a surprising amount of speed. But for someone with awesome, super cool wolfy powers, it was no problem keeping up. After Lydia was safely tucked under the lorry, Jackson held his hand out for Stiles to jump on. 

He was imagining himself tripping and landing on the tracks, his intestines forever ingrained in all the nooks and crannies of the steel. The old Stiles, as he sometimes referred to himself pre-bite, would not have been able to jump onto a moving train. Hell, he could barely run a lacrosse field length. 

But for Stiles 2.0? No problem. Well, nearly. He grabbed onto Jacksons hand, his other reaching for the underside of the lorry. As soon as he had made contact with Jackson, the boy grabbed on tight and pulled them both backwards. 

He somehow landed on top of the other wolf in the tight, enclosed space they were in, and lay for a second, trying to get his breath back. 

"Move your fat ass, you're heavy." Jackson grunted beneath him, but the other boy still had an iron grip on the back of his t-shirt. Grumbling into Jackson's shoulder, he lay for a more seconds before rolling himself off onto the dirty floor of the train car. 

"You okay Lyds?" He craned his neck back, looking behind him where Lydia was currently crouched. 

"I'm fine, Stiles. The quicker this goes the better." 

"Yeah, I hear you." 

The six hours it took them to get to the next rail yard was quiet, well, in the talking sense. With the ear plugs in they had to shout to each other to be heard, and even then, Lydia still had trouble listening when they were going fast. When they finally got into the yard, and the train stopped for a crew change and to swap out cars, the teens snuck out from their hidey hole. It was still dark out, as it was just after 6AM, which was great for them, less chance at being caught. 

"There's no one about." Jackson said, having removed his earplugs to have a listen. Stiles was insanely grateful for all the time they spent at his house, listening to heartbeats several houses down. It sure came in handy. 

Getting out of the rail yard was relatively easy. There was a fence to climb, but with a boost from Stiles and Jackson on the other side, Lydia cleared it easily. 

The plan was to stock up just about every time they stopped, that way they would have to carry less stuff with them. They also wanted to board the trains in the dark, less chance of people spotting him them. Therefore, if things did go to shit back in Beacon Hills, their journey was practically untraceable. 

They had worked out, well, Lydia had worked out, that if they hit the closest shop then they could make their way about a mile west where the train tracks took a sharp turn. The train would have to slow to a crawl to get around, and they would be able to scope out a car to ride in and jump on, all before the sun rose. 

They ended up having to jog to the rail turning, after deciding to hit up a grocery store a few blocks down, as it looked a little more rundown and like it wouldn't have working surveillance. It didn't. 

By the time they got to where they needed to be, the train was already crawling past them, just about clear of the turning. Jackson took off at a run, looking for the perfect car further up the train, whilst Stiles and Lydia looked a bit further down. 

"Up here!" Stiles just heard Jackson over the sound of the train, and gave Lydia a gentle nudge whilst he pointed in the direction of the other wolf. 

They both started to run a little faster, catching up to Jackson. The car he had spotted was perfect. It had a sliding door that was thankfully unlocked, and didn't seem to be too full inside. Once again Jackson was the first to jump on, before holding out a hand for Lydia to grab. 

The train was getting faster now, and by the time that Lydia got safely onto the carriage, Stiles was almost sprinting to catch up. He made a desperate grab for the rung on the side, and cheered inside when he managed to grab on. He started to panic though when he couldn't get his legs under control. He was tired. The trek through the desert was still taking a toll on him and he wasn't at full strength. He struggled to bring his legs up, to get at least one foot through the door, but his hands were slipping, and he was struggling to breathe. 

"Jacks-!" Before he could fully shout on the other boy his arms were shooting out of the door, grabbing onto the front of Stiles' shirt and hauling him inside. 

They landed with a thud on the floor of the car, Stiles landing on his knees trying desperately to get his breath back. 

"Stiles, breathe. You’re okay, you just need to breath." Lydia's hand on his back was soothing, and by the time he got his breathing back to normal, Jackson had closed the carriage door and was at his side too. 

"That was a little close for comfort," he panted, looking up at the others. Jackson began to laugh, and it wasn't long before Stiles and Lydia joined in as well. 

When they finally got themselves back together, they stood up, taking a look at the car they would be riding for the next 16 hours. 

"Huh, could be worse." They seemed to be in a carriage storing sacks of vegetables. Stiles could see sacks of potatoes, carrots and turnips, and he could smell onions and cabbages too. Lydia had already made herself comfortable in a clear corner of the carriage, flashlight in one hand and notebook in the other. The sound of the train was considerably quieter inside the closed carriage like this, and they were able to speak to each other. Jackson was the one to break the silence. 

"We should probably figure out how we're going to find the Sheriff. Whether or not Derek accepts us into his pack, we still need to find him. It's not like we're gonna be able to sniff him out, any scent trail is long gone." 

Stiles ignored the tightening in his chest as he thought about his father. His mind drifted back to the two hours where he had thought he'd lost his dad for good; when Scott came to the door, police badge in hand, and told him his father was gone. His world shifted. His heart felt like it was in his stomach, struggling to beat. It was like his body was giving up. _What's the point?_ it asked. With his father gone he had nobody, there was no point in him continuing to live. But that was a lie, wasn't it? 

He had Lydia. 

Lydia, the girl who came running to the house when Stiles called her in the midst of a panic attack, unable to voice that his dad was dead. Lydia who brought him back from the brink, who explained that she hadn't screamed, hadn't even felt the urge to. Lydia who held him as he begun to laugh hysterically, overwhelmingly relieved that his father was still alive. The girl that was going to storm the alpha's house as he dared to leave his best friend’s side after such as tragic event. They had been each other's rocks through the last year of school, when they both fully realised that they had no one. 

He had Jackson. 

The boy that had bullied him for most of his life, and had walked out when the pack needed him most. The boy that had changed, that came back to Beacon Hills when they needed him, even though he was leaving the only thing he could call family, and coming back to a place where all but two didn't want him. Jackson who had gotten him home when he was bitten by a werewolf, who had sat with him through that traumatic night where they weren't sure if the bite was going to take or not. Jackson who had fitted so seamlessly into Stiles and Lydia's little pack, who had filled a hole they didn't realise was there. He was their protector. The big brother. 

Jackson had come back to Beacon Hills in June, a month after Lydia and Stiles graduated early, six weeks after his dad disappeared. He didn't exactly receive a warm welcome from the pack, and was only called to assist when they wanted to use someone as bait. It had taken two days for the wolf to fully insert himself into Stiles and Lydia's lives, and two weeks for him to be fully up to date on their plan. 

"The only way my father would leave me, was if he thought it was the safest choice for me." Stiles let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when Jacksons hand landed on his shoulder. "Just before he disappeared, Lydia and I found proof that Gerard was lying to Scott and was using the pack to get rid of any supernatural creatures they could find. My father knew this, which means he had help when he disappeared, he wouldn’t have left otherwise. My guess is that his plan was to come back to Beacon Hills when it would be safest for me." 

"But how are we going to know where he went? Does he have any friends that would help him?" 

"I know of a few people that he could've went to for help. We start there and see where it takes us, I guess." It wasn't a good plan, wasn't even a solid plan, but it was all they had. Stiles made himself comfy against Jackson’s side, deciding to try and sleep for as long as he could on this train.


	4. Honest to God Neon Dress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much to my wonderful beta, [Cusozu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuzosu/pseuds/Cuzosu). Any errors/spelling mistakes found are entirely my own, I have a bad habit of not giving my beta a lot of time to beta. 
> 
> Shorter chapter this time, as I have a lot to cover next chapter, hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Thank you for all your wonderful comments and kudos, it really makes writing this fic worth it :) 
> 
> Fun Fact: Scotland's national animal is the unicorn. (I am Scottish and can confirm this)

"I'll do you one better. I once saw Mrs. Wetzel and Dustin in the movie theatre, together."

"She's his grandmother, Stilinski. That's not that gross." 

Stiles chuckled as Jackson spoke; he was going to blow the boy's mind. "I saw them necking at the back of the movie theatre. That boy is not her grandson, or we have our very own incestuous couple in Beacon Hills."

"What? No, ack, come on Stiles, why would you do this to us?" Stiles laughed as both Lydia and Jackson doubled over as if they were in pain. Lydia had her eyes tightly closed, her face scrunched in disgust. It took a second before a giggle broke out. Jackson had used both his hands to hide his face, but his shoulders were jerking with the effort of holding in his laugh.

"I even had the pleasure of bumping into them on the way out. I tried so hard to act normal and look at them. But every time I looked all I could see was them kissing. I ended up pretending I had a phone call and all but ran out of there. Like, actual make a beep sound with my mouth, and said ‘oh, that’s my phone. I should... phone’. I haven't been back to the theatre since." Stiles shuddered as the memory replayed in his mind. That had been a scarring night.

"Okay, okay, how's this? Not as good as Stiles' story, but still pretty gross. And weird." Stiles and Jackson managed to get the giggles under control as they waited on Lydia to start her tale.

The group was on their fourth train of the journey. It was the longest ride of them all, lasting for a full 24 hours, and they had once again gotten lucky with crew changes and carriages. When Lydia had been putting this plan together, she had raked through the hundreds of online forums dedicated to hitchhiking, and more importantly, train hopping.

She had even created an account, and asked questions both specific to this trip, and to a hypothetical one. That way if anyone was to associate the account with her, they wouldn't know the final destination of the trip. It was probably a little too paranoid of them to go that far, but Gerard Argent was good. If there was any minuscule loose end, he would find it and he _would_ find them. It wasn't a risk they were willing to take, and Stiles didn't care if all their precautions made them sound crazy.

She had found out that the train they were on had two crew changes. The first one was going to be at around 10PM. They had picked a carriage that was about twenty from the front, because according to various different train hoppers, the crew usually only checked the first six cars, at most the first ten.

Their second stop was the slightly riskier one. It would be about 6AM, and the crew usually went and checked all unlocked cars. It took about 45 minutes for the search to be completed, but they only gave each car a cursory glance. As long as the group kept quiet, they should be fine hidden behind the mountain of parcels.

The carriage they were in was another one with a sliding door, and it was full of packages. They had cleared a corner at the back, and had managed to make enough space for two mountain ash circles, and leave enough room for Lydia to feel as safe as she could locked up with two werewolves during the full moon.

"So, remember that time I went to Paris during term? We had that big physics test the week I came back."

Huh, Beacon Hills. Stiles had spent the majority of the journey trying his hardest not to think about Beacon Hills. He was worried. What if Derek didn't accept them into the pack? What if he sent them back? They had barely gotten to know Derek when he came to Beacon Hills.

To begin with the older wolf was only interested in Scott, and Stiles didn't fully trust the guy. That being said, he was smart enough to realise that although he didn't exactly like him, Derek wasn't the enemy. He wasn't exactly sure when his trust in Derek had changed, but it was somewhere between the incident at the school where Derek 'died,’ and when Stiles held his paralyzed body afloat in the pool for a few hours.

Stiles was as surprised as Derek and his pack when Scott betrayed them at the warehouse; a night Stiles could never forget.

When it was revealed that his best friend was working with Grandpa Argent, Stiles felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach. Gerard; the man who had just kidnapped and tortured three teenagers, who had hooked two of those teens up to a car battery for kicks and giggles. The man who knew he had kidnapped a human and still beat him anyway. 

Stiles later found that he had three broken, two fractured, and four bruised ribs. He had been in agony for months while he recovered.

The worst part of the night had been Erica and Boyd; just thinking about them brought tears to Stiles' eyes. The fight was looking grim; the Hale pack were split, fighting off at least three enemies each, but Stiles had hoped, had foolishly believed that they could still win, that Scott hadn’t really signed the Hale’s death certificates and would turn on the Argents. But, that was also the night they found out about Lydia's Banshee status, when she screamed for Erica. Luckily the only person privy to that particular incident was Stiles. Everyone else was too focused on the True Alpha and the defeat of the Hale Pack. 

Scott had gone head to toe with Derek, somehow managing to become an alpha as he done so. 

Stiles and Lydia had researched the hell out of it, and they couldn’t understand how someone like Scott could be gifted with such a rare power. Especially after the battle was said and done, when the bodies had been taken care of and Derek had managed to escape, Argent had admitted to Scott’s face what he had done to Stiles. Scott’s reply still haunted Stiles sometime. 

_”We’re all good. No permanent damage, no harm, right? We all had a part to play in this plan”_

That had been another thing that cemented his and Lydia's friendship. They had both been at their lowest that night and in the days following. Stiles was injured and suffering betrayal, trying to wrap his head around the disappearance of what was left of the Hale pack. Trying to deal with the fact that Erica and Boyd were dead.

He had never been close to Boyd, but after his death he had made a point to visit and take care of his Grandma. Through their interactions he had grown to know Boyd more than he ever had, and often mourned the loss of what could have been a great friendship.

Erica's death had hit him hardest. Although they weren't friends, had never hung out with each other at school, he had a soft spot for the blonde. He had instigated many fights with people who had dared to shame her about her epilepsy. He had even goaded a member of the lacrosse team into breaking his arm. That was a story for another time.

Lydia had lost the love of her teenage life. She had watched Jackson walk out of her life, for what she thought was for good. She also had to deal with the fact that she was apparently not just a regular human, and in fact a predictor of death. They had learned more about her abilities since then, but for the first couple of weeks, that's all they thought she could do.

They had stuck together when Scott practically adopted the Lahey boy and bit that Liam kid, accepting them into the pack with open arms. They chilled with each other as the number of pack nights increased, and they both stopped getting invited at all. Lydia was there when Stiles came clean to the Sheriff about the supernatural world, and had also helped keep the man in the house when he wanted to kill the Argents, starting with Gerard.

They had went through the last two years of school together alone. Although Scott dropped by every so often to get Stiles to do research, trying to prove he was still pack, and Allison subsequently wanted to go shopping with Lydia on those days, they both decided that the day Scott sided with Gerard Argent was the day they had stopped being pack.

The Beacon Hills pack had changed a lot since the Hale pack was forced from their land, and it shamed Stiles to admit it. Lydia, Stiles and Jackson had actually visited the Hale grave before they came. They apologised to Talia, listed all members of the current Beacon Hills pack, and promised to return the Hale’s back to power, or they’d die trying. They had all learned a lot about the Hales, and about the supernatural world in general, so they knew how fucked up and just wrong the situation was. 

The McCall pack had ten official members, and about half a dozen unofficial members. Four of those Scott had bit recklessly, and had let the Argents train. He didn’t act like an alpha, there was no scent marking, bonding, or even pack bonds. Stiles was willing to bet that one of the betas could be killed and Scott wouldn’t know until someone told him. 

A real alpha would know straight away, a real alpha would know the second one of their betas got hurt.

The itch under his skin was becoming harder to ignore. The more he thought about Beacon Hills and Scott McCall, the more his gums itched and his fingertips ached. He needed to change, he wanted to howl for his pack, even though his pack was right in the carriage with him.

"-iles! Stiles! What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Stiles was broken out of his reverie as a very worried looking Jackson gripped his arm, Lydia hovering in the distance.

"You spaced out on us man. Your heartbeat is going crazy, and you're struggling to breath."

"I can't. I, uhm, I can't focus. Put me in the circle, this is gonna be harder than I thought." Stiles could feel the shift just beneath the surface of his skin. He looked at his hands, at the claws that had replaced his fingernails.

He thought he had prepared himself, that he would be able to keep control. But he wasn't prepared from this.

His head snapped up as he felt something close over him. He felt like he had been pushed into an invisible barrier, pushing him further away from the moon and his pack.

He hadn't even noticed Jackson dragging him into the corner, or Lydia sealing the circle. He growled at them through fanged teeth, unaware of when he had shifted into his beta form.

He had a sudden thought, and raised his hand to where his eyebrows were. Both Lydia and Jackson laughed, as strained as it was.

"Don't worry, your eyebrows are still there." Stiles felt a bit looser then, the need to escape and run free under the moon had simmered down a little, though he could still feel it bubbling beneath the surface.

"It does get easier, trust me. When you have an alpha and a pack, you'll look forward to the full moon. It's a completely different feeling, I assure you." Jackson was sitting right at the edge of the circle, unable to come any closer.

"What were you saying again Lydia? Something to do with the school." His throat was sore as he spoke, he must've been growling longer than he remembered.

"So, I'm at the school to get my book, and as I'm walking past one of the maths classrooms, I hear a couple arguing."

Stiles wanted to run, he wanted to hunt. He wanted to, no, he _needed_ , to provide for his pack. He wanted to curl up into Lydia, with Jackson surrounding them both as they slept under the moon. He wanted his dad.

"I swear, an honest to god neon dress!"

He didn't want to be in this rolling metal box, he wanted to be running under the moon, he wanted to be free. But he couldn’t get out. Every time he tried to get across to the door, he bounced off an invisible barrier that turned blue on impact if he hit it hard enough.

He let out a howl of rage as he bounced against the invisible wall once more. It died out to a whimper as he realised he was scaring his packmates. He couldn’t smell them from where he was in this trap, but his redheaded packmate looked scared, and the other wolf looked at him in concern. 

He wanted to be with them! He wanted to run!


End file.
